Giants Take Lead In NLDS Behind Webb Gem
Logan Webb twirled a gem to give the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 series lead in the NLDS over their arch rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Logan Webb twirled a gem to give the Giants a 1-0 lead over their arch rival Dodgers in the NLDS.
Webb was fantastic in his Postseason debut, pitching 7.2 scoreless innings and striking out ten. The performance has only been matched by the likes of Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner in Giants Postseason history.
The Giants used home runs from their stars–Buster Posey, Kris Bryant and Brandon Crawford–to cruise to a 4-0 victory.
Defining Moment
The Dodgers had a chance to get on the board in the seventh after a one-out double by Will Smith. It was the first time all game they had a runner in scoring position with less than one out.
However, Webb continued his dominance and struck out Matt Beaty and Cody Bellinger back-to-back to escape trouble. He needed just eight pitches to get the job done and pick up his 9th and 10th strikeouts of the game. Through seven, Webb had thrown just 77 pitches despite the 10 strikeouts.
In the next half, with Buehler battling to get through seven, Kris Bryant led off with a home run to left-center. It was Bryant’s third hit in his Postseason debut with the Giants, and just his second home run since August 26th.
Buehler left the game after the next batter trailing 3-0 and the Giants never looked back. Brandon Crawford provided an insurance run in the eighth with a home run off left-hander Alex Vesia, and Camilo Doval shut the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Pitchers Duel By The Bay
Buster Posey turned back the clock as he deposited a Walker Buehler fastball into McCovey Cove to give the Giants a 2-0 lead in the first inning. It was the three-time World Series champion’s first at bat in the Postseason in five years.
After that the game belonged to the starting pitchers and both were fantastic.
Webb started off hot as he struck out four in the first three innings. He nearly allowed a run in the first, but made a nice play on a ball off his foot to throw out Justin Turner. Corey Seager had reached third and would have scored had Webb misplayed the ball.
Webb kept dealing and had only allowed four base runners–two hits and two errors–through five while striking out six on 53 pitches. Webb pitched the Dodgers backwards, using his changeup and slider as his primary pitches on the night. He threw those two pitches 73% of the time, 41% changeups and 32% sliders.
He faced his first bit of adversity in the sixth when Corey Seager doubled with two outs, then cooly struck out Trea Turner on just four pitches to escape the inning. It was his eighth strikeout–four sliders, three changeups, and one fastball–through six on just 65 pitches.
Buehler allowed a base runner in each of his first five innings, but none reached scoring position after the home run. Despite dealing with traffic, Buehler settled in nicely following the first and worked five straight scoreless innings. He allowed two-out hits in the fourth and fifth, but worked around both of them with a strikeout and flyout respectively.
Buehler attacked much differently than Webb, throwing 55 fastballs out of 99 pitches. The two faced off in a contrast of styles and Webb emerged victorious.
Play Of The Game
Brandon Crawford and Tommy La Stella provided the highlight of the night. The Giants middle-infield pair combined on a gorgeous double play to end the fourth inning that erased a Webb error.
Game 2 is Saturday night at 9:07 PM. Lefty Julio Urías gets the ball for the Dodgers, and the Giants’ ace Kevin Gausman will be on the mound for San Francisco.
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Ethan Budowsky is a University of Florida graduate with a degree in telecommunications. He currently works as a Multimedia Journalist for WCJB TV20 in Gainesville. Before…